When a reader tipped us off about some new construction at the corner of 19th & Thompson, we immediately thought back to our visit to the 1800 block of W. Thompson St. last summer, showing off some of the amazing architecture on the block. In case you've forgotten…
If you can divert your gaze from the amazing homes, you'll notice some new framing in the foreground of the image above. Let's get a better look at that, shall we?
There you go, four new homes. Makes sense, right? After all, this location is just a block north of Francisville and it's also close enough for Temple students to consider living here. But if you look carefully at the homes, you start to notice something strange- they're uncharacteristically small for new construction. The dimensions of the homes are roughly 20' wide, which is great, and about 27' deep, which is terrible. For reference, most new homes are built 38'-40' deep, mostly to accommodate nice sized bedrooms on the front and back of the 2nd floor. So… what gives?
It turns out, three of these homes are already listed for sale, at a price of $238K. It was only after looking at the price and checking out the listings that we realized that these homes are actually part of a much larger project. A couple months ago, we told you about the Pointe at 19th & Ridge, a project that will mean the construction of a mixed-use building with 40 units and another 20 townhomes. About a third of the units in the project, including the quartet at 19th & Thompson, will be offered as "workforce housing," which explains the small size and the depressed price point. The listing also includes a rendering of upcoming homes at a different location that gives us an idea of what we can expect here.
Sadly, and entirely unsurprisingly, the new homes aren't going to hold a candle to the existing housing stock on the block. Then again, we're pretty sure we can say the same about anything built in this town over the last 75 or so years.